You are here
Species
Diplopoda
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Millipedes don't change their structure much as they grow. Babies look like small adults. As they grow they shed their exoskeleton to make more room.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Not much is known about millipede reproduction. In most species, females mate with males, then lay eggs.
Breeding season: probably spring and summer
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; parthenogenic ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous ; sperm-storing
In some millipede species, one parent or the other guards the eggs. Females also sometimes make special nests for their eggs when they lay them.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; male parental care ; female parental care
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:2877
Specimens with Sequences:1732
Specimens with Barcodes:1658
Species:292
Species With Barcodes:246
Public Records:1269
Public Species:200
Public BINs:314
These invertebrates have long thin bodies made of many segments, protected by an exoskeleton. Each segment has two pairs of legs. They have a pair of antennae on their head, and chewing mouthparts. Most have glands along their body that make toxic compounds to discourage predators. Most millipedes are darkly colored, but some very toxic ones are bright.
Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Diplopoda de Blainville in Gervais, 1844
- Decker, Peter, Reip, Hans Simon, Voigtlaender, Karin (2014): Millipedes and centipedes in German greenhouses (Myriapoda: Diplopoda, Chilopoda). Biodiversity Data Journal 2, 1066: 1066-1066, URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.2.e1066
License | Public Domain |
Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/9956197A90B49655FA85ACC3B2DF0897 |
Millipedes are found all over the world, and are most diverse in the humid tropical regions.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native ); neotropical (Native ); australian (Native )
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Little Sexual Dimorphism other than gonopodia; females sometimes longer and thicker than males; occasional Sexual Dimorphism in color.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Fairbairn, 2013 |
Source | http://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.n48cm |
Millipedes live on land, but they need to live in moist places, and most live in forested areas (though there are plenty in grasslands and other habitats too)
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |
Millipedes eat dead plant material. They have bacteria and other microbes in their digestive system that helps them break down the dead leaves and other foods they eat. They sometimes eat the dung of herbivores.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Diplopoda/ |